question_answer 11)

What were the social economic and political conditions in Russia before 1905?  

Answer:

At the beginning of the 20th century, the vast majority of Russia's people were agriculturists. About 85 per cent of the Russian empire's population earned their living from agriculture. (i) Cultivators produced for the market as well as for their own needs and Russia was a major exporter of grain.   (ii) Industry was found in pockets. Prominent industrial areas were St Petersburg and Moscow.   (iii) Large factories existed alongside craft workshops.   (iv) Many factories were set up in the 1890s when Russia's railway network was extended and foreign investment in industry increased.   (v) Most industries were the private property of industrialists. The government supervised large factories to ensure minimum wages and limited hours of work.   (vi) Workers were divided into social groups on the basis of skill. Division was also visible in dress and manners also.   (vii) Some workers formed associations to help members in times of unemployment or financial hardship.   (viii) Despite divisions, workers united themselves to strike, work when  they disagreed with employers about dismissals or work conditions.   (ix) Like workers, peasants too were divided. They also had no respect for the nobility.   (x) Russian peasants wanted the land of the nobles to be given to them.   (xi) They pooled their land together periodically and their commune divided it according to the needs of individual families.